


Missing You

by 999blackflowers



Category: Layton Kyouju Series | Professor Layton Series
Genre: Adventure, M/M, Mystery, Old Work, Psychological Torture, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-29
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:55:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29788809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/999blackflowers/pseuds/999blackflowers
Summary: [Archived old work from May 2016, uploaded March 2021]Luke as an adult finally returns to London only to find Professor Layton is missing, and sets out to go find him.
Relationships: Hershel Layton/Luke Triton
Kudos: 3





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N from 999blackflowers: This is an old work from 2016 I have archived from Wattpad. This fic was written with a coauthor who I have since had a falling out with and no longer wishes to be associated with this fic. This fic contains kidnapping, brainwashing, intense violence, and branding with iron.

Luke gazed out of the small rounded window of the noisy passenger plane, a little nervous being so high above the clouds. His hands gripped the armrests tightly and he took a deep breath. He was going to be landing in London in a few short hours. He shut his eyes and tried to block out the sound of the wind howling around the plane outside, focusing only on his precious memories of London that had been growing more and more fuzzy over the years. He hadn't been there since he was a little boy, and now he was nineteen years old and had graduated high school with excellence in almost every subject.

His only job experience was about a year's worth of painful full-time retail in the city of Seattle, where he'd been rather forcefully been moved by his parents. But he'd saved up money from it; enough money to get into a specific university in London and pay rent for a flat he'd organized through a lot of letters and confusion.

"I'm coming home, professor..." Luke gently mumbled to himself. He smiled at the thought and slowly drifted to sleep.

Luke's eyes opened as his shoulder was shaken by a flight attendant.

"W-what?" Luke mumbled as he returned to consciousness.

"Mr. Triton? I don't want to disturb you, but the plane has landed." The flight attendant spoke. "We need you to wake up and go towards customs." She gave a gentle smile.

"Thank you..." Luke unbuckled his seatbelt and stretched before getting to his feet shakily and picking up a bag. He slung it over his back before beginning to walk towards the front of the plane to exit. He took a deep breath and stepped onto some stairs which lead down to the runway. He could see the London skyline in the (somewhat cold) sun and he felt a smile appear on his face. Home.

Luke felt a little chilly but began to walk down the stairs and onto the runway, hearing the loud sounds of the planes taking off and landing nearby, and beginning to walk a bit faster. He wanted to go grab his belongings and run to his apartment so he could start to look for a job right away. And to go find the professor again. He could almost feel his lips on his own already. He sped up.

Customs was horrible and boring, but he eventually reached the baggage claim. He was so close to being home, so close to just being able to reuniting with his one true love. He watched the strange circular conveyer belt and listened to the gentle hum while waiting for his bags to arrive. His heart raced before beginning to gradually slow down.

Luke waited, and he waited, and he waited for his precious suitcase to arrive. But it didn't, even after everyone else had taken their luggage. He bit his lip eventually and began to feel sick with anxiety, but kept his composure. A gentleman stayed calm and collected.

  
He took a deep breath and tried to stay calm as his mind became fixated on the possibility that he may have gotten his stuff lost in transfer somehow. It was difficult to remain calm when all his clothes and belongings he needed were in that suitcase – except for some of the stuff in the backpack in on his shoulders.

  
A few negotiations later with some of the staff who said they would try to recover his stuff, he stepped out of the airport, trying not to feel too discouraged.

  
"These streets are where I'm destined and designated to be," he told himself while flagging down a taxi. He felt the fuzzy memories shake off their aging haze and become fresh again.

  
A taxi pulled up to him and stopped. Luke opened a door and hopped in, smoothing his hair and putting his bag in the empty seat behind him. He would hopefully have the suitcase delivered to his new apartment in a week or two, so he tried to put it behind him so he could focus on what he had.

  
"Where to?" The driver asked and quickly adjusted the mirror.

  
"Joyce Avenue, please." Luke spoke and stared out the window as the taxi pulled out. A smile emerged on his face as the familiar buildings came into view.

  
People populated the busy sidewalks and went along their daily activities with joy and pride, beautiful huge trees lining the roads, stylish apartment buildings, sun streaming onto the streets...

  
 _Sun, in London City. A miracle_. Luke joked to himself.

  
Joyce Avenue was a pretty looking street, much like the others. It was less populated than the main streets but people still walked down it in mass number.

  
"Here you go. Joyce Avenue." The taxi driver spoke in a thick Russian accent. "That'll be 30 pounds, thank you."

  
Luke pulled out his wallet from his backpack and handed him a few notes. "Here you go."

  
"No problem." The driver replied.

  
Luke slipped his wallet into the pocket of his pants and got out, putting his backpack on his back again. He shut the door of the taxi which promptly zoomed off. He felt even closer to being able to sit down and relax.

  
He paused on the sidewalk and took a moment to take in his surroundings. He felt someone brush past him but it didn't bother him, he was too busy just feeling the memories flood back. He recognised this place.

  
His apartment building wasn't the nicest in the world – old and a bit run-down, but it was cheap and that's what mattered. He walked inside and walked up some stairs, seeing his apartment number. Apartment 3 in the block.

  
He went to the door and knocked on it. "Miss Jessica?" He spoke politely.

  
A woman opened the door, raising an eyebrow before smiling. "You must be Luke Triton!" She shook his hand. "Good to meet you! I'm the landlady."

  
"Hello there!" He returned the handshake firmly and stepped inside after Miss Jessica so she could show him around his new apartment.

  
The apartment was slightly old and grotty but it looked comforting. There was a square TV in the corner with an old armchair by it, a small kitchen, a dining table, and two other rooms, one he could see had a comfy looking bed and the other was a bathroom.

  
"This is a wonderful apartment, Miss Jessica." Luke said with a smile.

"Thank you," She gave a slightly haughty smile before putting her hands on her hips. "You know the deal. 50 quid up front."

  
"I know, I'll just..."

  
Luke reached to where his wallet was in his pocket and felt his heart freeze as he felt it wasn't there.

  
"W-wh..." He checked all his pockets frantically before remembering the person who'd brushed up against him. "I think someone pickpocketed my wallet..." He whispered and tried to keep it together.

  
"Well, no deal then." She spoke firmly. "Look, I'm running low on cash at the moment and I'd rather give out this place to someone with an actual job and actual physical money."

  
"Y-you can't!" Luke was beginning to descend into panic.

  
She folded her arms and seemed to enjoy exercising this power. "Well, I have a family to feed, and I can't feed them if I have a tenant who won't pay. Get out."

Luke anxiously crept back towards the door and exited the apartment, feeling his heart shatter as the door slammed. The sun was beginning to set outside, he could see from the orange rays shining from the window. It sunk in his heart as he realised he had nowhere to stay and was unemployed, homeless, helpless, and without a single dollar. He felt incredibly anxious about stepping outside.

He found himself on the London streets aimlessly walking in a single direction gently crying and trying to hide it. It was dusk now and he was feeling a bit chilly and more and more nervous by the minute, until one person placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He was a dark skinned man looking rather sympathetic.

"I j-just..." Luke paused to rub his eyes and sniff. "I got here today and I don't have any money or anywhere to go or job or... and I don't want to be on the streets..."

"Hey, I used to be in a similar situation." He pulled Luke out of the sidewalk traffic to the side. "I used to go stay at the library, they let people like you sleep there overnight if you do some work the next morning."

"Where is it?" Luke took an interest and a flicker of hope burst in his eyes.

"About five hundred metres away, just turn down that road." He pointed to a certain road with not many people going down it.

"T-thank you!"

Surely enough, a short stroll down that road and he entered a wonderful warm library just as the sun went down over the horizon. There were volunteers pumping up airbeds and laying down foam mattresses for a few people who looked far worse off than Luke. They gave him a sympathetic smile towards him.

Luke was disappointed he'd lost his stuff, his money and his new place to live, but at least he had _somewhere_ to stay. He approached one of the volunteers a bit shyly.

"C-Can I stay the night?"

"Of course, darling." The young woman smiled and gestured to a foam mattress with sheets and blankets. "You can take that one."

"Thank you." Luke walked to the little mattress and lay down on it, hugging the old pillow and curling up underneath the blankets.

The lights were turned off shortly and Luke stared up at a chandelier hanging from the library ceiling. He had trouble getting to sleep that night, uneasy about the events that had passed. In a single day, he'd made it to London, but had lost his belongings and money. At least he still had the backpack he'd taken as carry-on packed with a few essential items he couldn't live without.

One of these things was a photo of the professor. He unzipped the pocket it was held in and pulled out the slowly ageing photograph, staring at the smiling face forever held in time. He smiled a little before tucking it back in his bag and fell into sleep's embrace a lot easier. 


	2. Chapter 2

When Luke woke up the next morning, the sun was already shining through the window. He could hear the chirping of myriad songbirds all greeting the break of day. He was one of the last people to get up, the other beds were mostly empty and the people were just filing away some returned books. Luke discovered a stack of books next to his own bed with a note reading "please put these away".

He picked up the rather weighty stack and went to the shelves to put them away accordingly, it didn't take long, just a few minutes. He just slid the last book into the shelf before looking over at a sound he heard. A librarian was putting a newspaper down on a table... He decided to go over and check it out.

As soon as he saw the headline, he felt his heart freeze.

_**"PROFESSOR HERSHEL LAYTON STILL MISSING"** _

He anxiously started to read the article with a sting in his chest and anxiety beginning to fill his veins.

_The esteemed Professor Layton of Gressenheller University is still missing after a week of searching with no trace. He disappeared on the 18th and was last sighted leaving Gressenheller University at 4:30PM. If you have any information or have seen him, please visit the East London Police Station on Meridian Street._

Luke set the newspaper down on the table, snatched up his backpack and promptly dashed out the door. He remembered the location from his many investigations with the Professor, and locating him was his number one priority right now.

The police station was a long sprint away and he managed to arrive inside panting and tired out. The person at the reception was drinking coffee and tapping away at a clickety-clackety keyboard.

Luke dashed forward to the reception, completely out of breath after running for such a long way. The man at the counter just gave a sheepish uncomfortable smile while Luke laid his head on the desk trying to catch his breath.

"Can I help you?" The man asked.

"I... just want to help the investigation to find Professor Layton..." Luke had caught his breath. He stood up straight and tried to calm himself.

"Do you know anything? Have you seen him?" The man spoke.

"Well, n-no, but... I'd just like to talk to whoever is heading the investigation."

Luke was pushed into a formal office where a grumpy man with a thick mustache hunched over his desk. He had aged considerably since Luke last saw him, and he somehow looked even more formidable.

_INSPECTOR CHELMEY_ read the nameplate.

Luke felt a bit intimidated and began to reconsider the situation. He looked at the certificates on the wall and felt his legs become reluctant to move another step as he walked towards the desk. "H-h-hello... I'm..."

"Luke Triton." The man spoke in a gruff voice. "'Aven't seen you in a while. You and Layton used to be joined at the hip, I recall."

"Yes, that's true b-but... I'd just like to help f-find him..." He nervously stammered. The inspector's gaze didn't become any less intense.

"Do you know anythin'?" He tweaked his moustache. "Anythin' new?"

"Well, n-no-"

"What're you doin' here then?" The inspector was clearly very busy by the large pile of paperwork and letters strewn everywhere on his desk.

"I... I know the professor better than any case file or member on the force." Luke tried to point out but shrunk a little. "I mean, I t-think..."

"Poor fellow didn't socialise that much after the Catacombs Incident..." The inspector spoke. "You could be useful, now you mention that..."

Luke nodded. The Catacombs Incident was when a giant black fortress, piloted by the man Clive Dove, had burst from the ground and started to destroy the fair London City. He frowned a little as he remembered the statistics of all the lives lost and the entire districts destroyed. Clive was given a life sentence but escaped prison two years later and famously committed suicide by throwing himself off London Bridge during the chase.

"But, if you wanna help, you're in, Triton." The inspector stood up from his desk.

"I wanted to ask, uh, I was picketpocketed and... lost my wallet. And my luggage got lost somehow." Luke gave a sheepish smile. "If I could have some money, perhaps, it'd aid... a lot... please..."

The inspector gave a chuckle which sounded more like a laugh. "How'do I know you won't just go frolickin' off with it?"

Luke opened his mouth to say something before realising there wasn't really anything he could say. He blinked before saying, "You can't really know, can you?"

"An honest man." The inspector nodded. He pulled a few coins from his pocket and tossed them to Luke as if hoping he'd catch them. Luke managed to catch a couple, but missed the rest and they scattered across the floor. He scrambled to pick them up, and the Inspector continued as though nothing had happened at all. "Catch the bus or somethin' over to Mr. Layton's apartment and I'll meet ya there, awright?"

"Alright." Luke gripped the coins tightly in his hand. He wasn't going to be pickpocketed again.


	3. Chapter 3

The bus was completely packed, but Luke somehow still managed to get a seat. He took his time waiting for the bus to get to his stop to massage his sore calf muscles. Running the whole way to the police station not have been such a great idea in the long term...

Once, the bus pulled up, he was finally on a familiar street. He had countless warm memories of walking down this particular street with the professor holding his hand...

Layton's flat was in a building which seemed to have a lot more wear and tear than he remembered, but he decided it was just aging. The door to Layton's apartment was surrounded by orange and yellow tape with messages printed on it such as "CAUTION" and "POLICE LINE - DO NOT CROSS".

He pulled some of the tape away, feeling a little anxious in doing so. He opened the door and felt a rush of nostalgia as he entered the apartment he'd spent those few glorious years in. So many wonderful memories of cuddling on the couch together watching movies, or sipping tea and hot chocolate curled up by the fireplace... they brought a smile to his weary face.

"Layton isn't the tidiest person in the world, is he?" Inspector Chelmey suddenly walked up behind him, and Luke quietly hated himself for flinching.

"He never did have the time for cleaning up..." Luke tried to shake off his unease at being this close to the inspector as he walked inside. "So. If the Professor disappeared, perhaps he was kidnapped..."

"Or drove that weird car of his all the way to the ocean and off a cliff." Chelmey snorted.

"Don't say that." Luke turned to him with a sudden serious look in his eyes. "You know he wouldn't do that."

"What makes you so sure, Triton? I did tell ya he's been different since that incident. Who knows, he might've been depressed. I worked with 'im, and he sure seemed like it. Always starin' off into space..."

Luke somehow had a feeling it wasn't the giant fortress popping up from the ground that had been making him depressed. Or distracted. Upon closer inspection, there was something... off. He ignored it and went to explore the rest of the house.

Nothing seemed different in the bathroom. Everything was just looking normal in there. Luke moved on to his own room. He was curious to see what the professor had done with it after he'd left. He grabbed the knob to open the door, but it refused to turn.

_Odd... My door never had a lock on it before..._ Luke thought, bending down to examine the lock. The lock was in the shape of a heart and there was a copper panel below it with some writing engraved into it, but it didn't look relevant so he made a mental note and moved on.

The door to Layton's room was wide open and the bed remained undone with the covers looking like they'd been thrown back. A pillow lay beside the bed and another one just in the middle of the mattress. Even more interesting was his hat resting on the bedside table untouched.

"...This is a little strange..." Luke commented. "The professor was busy but he always had time to at least pull the covers up... And he'd never leave his hat at home..."

He turned around and poked his head out the door, seeing the inspector was just pouring himself a cup of tea without really caring.

"Aren't you going to help?" Luke asked, crossing his arms in annoyance.

"I came here a week ago when we first got the report," The Inspector replied gruffly. "I've already seen all there is to see."

"You just aren't looking hard enough..." Luke mumbled, quietly enough that the inspector wouldn't hear it, and circled back to the front door so he could scour the apartment again. Something was definitely not right, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He found himself staring at the lock on the door trying to make sense of everything. Suddenly, it all clicked into place and he let out a small shout of triumph. "AHA!"

"You find somethin', boy?" The Inspector asked as he walked over to Luke.

"The professor always had a lock on the door that was a puzzle so difficult only he and I could solve it, just in case he lost his keys, or forgot them." Luke knelt to peer inside. "It looks like it's been solved... and from the looks of it, someone was guessing at the solution." He murmured.

"What are you thinking, Triton?" The inspector seemed to be getting restless.

"The puzzle's been solved by someone who didn't already know the solution... His bed was left unmade, his hat's still there..." Luke adjusted his own hat, a little habit he shared with the lost professor. "And his car was still on the curb, if you hadn't noticed." He stood up, a small smile on his face as he said the solution. "It looks like the professor was kidnapped while he slept."

"Well, Triton, you've cracked the case." The inspector slow clapped. "Gold star."

Luke raised an eyebrow in irritation, allowing just a little bit of pride to slip into his psyche.

"Well, I'll just deliver this information to the police station..." He spoke gruffly and shoved Luke out of the way so he could get to the door. "Good day to you." He promptly left and slammed the door.

"Ugh..." Luke was quietly disgusted at the impolite patronizing behaviour but figured it was probably because he was still being seen as an innocent, wide-eyed little boy.

He remembered he hadn't inspected his own room and without a second thought spun on his heels to investigate. He knelt down to inspect the copper panel's writing and read it out loud to himself.

"Love captured in a moment is the key to my heart"

Luke stood up again and scratched his chin. "The professor made another puzzle lock, did he?" He paced through the living room as he pondered the meaning of the riddle.

"Love captured in a moment..." He mumbled, his eyes looking over the walls. The walls had everything from artifacts to paintings to photos hanging on them. A photo of Emmy Altava, a photo of Clark and Layton in their university days, a cute photo of him when he was younger asleep on a beanbag and cuddling his teddy bear...

Luke glanced around more and spotted a photo on the wall in a beautifully carved ornate frame. The photo was of him when he was about twelve, being hugged by Layton affectionately from behind. Luke smiled and carefully lifted the photo off the wall to inspect it more closely before hearing the door to his room click.

"Ah?" Luke turned around and saw the door to his room had opened a crack. He held the picture frame to his chest and began to creep inside.

The last time he'd seen his old room, it was more or less bare. Just the bedframe and mattress were remaining, no furniture or anything else. But now it was quite different.

He walked inside to take everything in. His bed had a lovely blue duvet and a few fluffy pillows with many many stuffed animals laid on them. They all wore stitched smiles. There was a dresser with a large spotless mirror. Upon opening the drawers, they were stuffed with nicely folded clothes, all brand new with the tags still attached. There was a rocking chair in the corner, a bookshelf with lots and lots of books, and a closet filled with lots and lots of toys.

Luke felt a little uneasy. He wondered for a second if he'd been replaced by some bright eyed child parading around as Layton's apprentice, before taking another look at his surroundings and spotting a framed piece of paper on the wall. He approached it and looked it up and down.

_Dear Professor,_

_It's been a while and I'm missing you and I miss cuddles already, I've been cuddling a pillow for a while but I want you back... Some days it's hard to get up because you're not with me, but your letters help me every day. I want you to know I'll always love you no matter what! I'll come home one day, I promise!_

_From Luke_   
_P.S_ _: I love you._

"Maybe he's not one hundred percent right in the head at the moment..." Luke murmured to himself, feeling slightly anxious... He couldn't help but pick up a stuffed white kitten plushie to feel the soft fur. It was so plush and soft. He sat down on the bed and pushed aside the other stuffed toys but cuddled the kitten tightly. It was just a bit of a relief, a bit of time to relax.

Luke tucked the kitten plush into his bag and left his strange room to head back to the police station in hope they'd have something more.

Inspector Chelmey was tiredly filing some paperwork at his desk, crumbling to himself when Luke casually and suddenly waltzed into his office. The inspector grumbled.

"I helped you, what do you want now?" The inspector gave an irritated groan.

"Well, I wanted to ask first... was... the Professor alright?" Luke put his bag down and carefully unzipped it.

"He just wasn't as social, Triton. He turned quiet." The inspector boredly stared at the jade gold fountain pen he was using.

"I went into my old room, and, it looked like he'd bought lots and lots of stuff, stuffed animals, clothes, blankets, a rocking chair, books..." Luke pulled out the beautiful stuffed snow white kitten plushie from his bag and held it out to him. "And, also, do you have any information as to where the Professor would be yet? Anything at all?"

"Look, laddie. I'm getting old." The inspector grumbled and scratched his head tiredly. "I'm retirin' in a few weeks and I was promised nothin' but good ol' desk work."

"S-so you're not going to help?" Luke's hopes sunk.

"I'm not bothered, boy. I'm just gonna do this until I'm allowed to frolic away to a nice cottage in the country." Inspector Chelmey spoke calmly and boredly. "Just go talk to someone else."

Luke left the room and began gnawing on one of the muesli bars he'd brought in his backpack. He was a bit irritated he'd been so quickly dismissed, but he had more important things to do. He decided he'd see to someone else but had a thought pop into his head.

"The professor was always a light sleeper..." Luke thought to himself while gnawing the tough bar. "I don't think someone could drag him somewhere unless he was sedated somehow... or numb..."

Luke's eyes went to something on the wall. There was supposedly a robbery at the hospital... Chloroform and a type of breathable liquid had supposedly been stolen. It was on the list of cases.


	4. Chapter 4

Luke shortly arrived at the hospital and entered the waiting room, feeling a little nervous as he did so. He wasn't an investigator. He was a homeless, unemployed 19-year old without a cent in his pocket. He took a deep breath before ringing a bell on the desk. "H-hello?"

"Yes?" A woman hurried in from a back room and up to the desk. She looked him right in the eyes. "Do you have an appointment?"

"I was just wondering if... there are any witnesses from when that medicine was stolen?" Luke smiled anxiously. "I'm investigating..."

"Oh, you are?" The woman gave a smile. "There is one... Do you want to talk to him?"

"Yes please." Luke nodded and tried to smile without looking too awkward. He wasn't sure how he was managing to pull this off.

He later sat in an empty room with a chair and another chair opposite. He felt a little nervous still and hoped he could get some information out of this.

A man walked in wearing the hospital uniform but no name tag. He took a deep breath, smoothing his hair and looking anxious before spotting Luke sitting in the chair.

"Oh! It's you again! You're looking young, friend!" The witness smiled and plopped himself down on the chair, crossing his legs casually. He seemed at complete rest and didn't seem anxious at all. Luke decided he should try and play along.

Luke nodded and gave a smile. "Thank you." He felt a little anxious still, he didn't know who the man was and he got the feeling if he asked the man would stop talking and lock up the information in his mind.

"You're a little early, I still need to get the anaesthetics... Should I go get it now?" He got up from his seat.

"Well-- of course. Please do." He gave a simple gesture and snapped his fingers to get the man to rush out.

Luke heard some footsteps behind him from behind a closed door. He felt his heart speed up. _Was this the person the man was talking about?_ He hastily stumbled away at speed and hid in a dark corner and shrunk down to try and hide.

A man walked inside, wearing dark glasses and a dark hoodie with the hood pulled up. He had his hands in his pockets and he was staring at the floor but he stood up straight and carried his height quite well. He kicked some sneakers before lifting his eyes to the door.

"I'm back!" The man in the hospital uniform ran inside carrying a chilly bin and a whole cardboard box. "I got the stuff!"

"Ah. Thank you." The man took the box and chilly bin and somehow didn't notice Luke in the corner.

"So, the famous criminal, Clive Dove... You faked your death 4 years ago and you're still out there! Committing crimes!" The man squealed. "What're you using this for anyway?!"

Luke's eyes widened at the name of "Clive Dove". "You're dead..." He mouthed and felt incredibly apprehensive.

"I'd rather not say." He said. "There could be someone listening." He swung around and left the room holding the stuff. The other man left the room as well and started calling out to some of the staff.

Luke got up and carefully crept after Clive. There was absolutely nothing that wasn't suspicious about this.

Clive was walking through the reception holding a box labelled "First Aid", with his hat pulled low over his eyes so that nobody could see his face. Luke followed him with a bit of caution but paused at the reception to quickly jot down a note saying "it was the witness" before going back to stalk his target.

Clive's car was outside and he had his head down to try and avoid attention as he walked through the hospital parking lot. Luke crept around and stalked him. He placed the boxes down next to a beat up old faded red car and unlocked the door.

Luke hopped in the back seat and threw some blankets over himself to hide and somehow Clive didn't notice while he lifted the supplies and put them in the car boot. He was trying to maintain a low profile.

Luke could feel his heart thudding loudly in his ears and a nervous ringing. Judging by the blankets and the state of the car, bags of groceries and supplies in the other seat, Clive was living in his car. He concluded it was so he could hide and stay the night wherever there was a road.

Clive took a deep breath and smoothed his hair with his hands. "Ugh. I hate my life..." He groaned and started his car, music beginning to thud through the speakers. Luke tried not to move but felt panic flooding his veins.

_My old man is a bad man,_ sung the speakers. _But I can't deny the way he holds my_ _hand_ _._

Clive drove and tried to keep his head down to try and potentially protect his identity. He started to drive and Luke couldn't see where they were going. He was stuck with only his thoughts of what would happen if he was found.

The car eventually slowed to a halt somewhere extremely eerily quiet. Clive hopped out and Luke assumed they'd reached their destination. He sat up and anxiously pushed the blankets away and carefully sneaked outside.

The second he left and shut the door, Clive - now with a bright blue flower tucked behind his ear - re entered his car and immediately drove away.


	5. Chapter 5

Luke's mind registered he was somewhere in the English countryside, in the middle of absolutely nowhere. He turned and managed to catch a glimpse of his only lead driving away. He felt the urge to scream and throw a tantrum like a little boy, but thought of what Layton would say. It wasn't at all a gentlemanly thing to do. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath like the professor had once instructed him, before turning around and looking at a sign.

The sign was relatively new, and lovingly painted with a bed of colourful flowers blooming below it. It read "WELCOME TO HAVEN TOWN". He appeared to have stumbled into a tiny little town with shops and gravel roads, a large field of wheat and a few pens of livestock. It was a picturesque town, the citizens chatting on the streets as if they all knew each other.

Luke's stomach growled at him in disgruntlement, begging for nourishment. He sighed as he remembered he'd run out of muesli bars and still didn't have any money. Still, everyone in this town seemed pretty friendly... Maybe they would give him some food if he asked nicely.

Slightly emboldened, he made his way into the town proper. It was fairly quaint, and Luke stood there for a moment, taking in his surroundings and feeling welcome and warm in the country sunlight. He noticed a cafe nearby, and without a second thought he headed in. as soon as he walked through the door, he felt slightly overwhelmed at the barrage of stimulation that flooded his senses. The warm smell of cakes and jam, the sound of happy patrons eating and laughing, the bright colors of flowers in pots placed thoughtfully around the room... He took a deep breath and smiled. You couldn't ask for much better than this.

"Excuse me?" Luke walked up to the counter, trying to get the attention of the woman standing behind it and cleaning glasses for the customers. She was wearing a smile on her red lips and chatting with a nearby patron, but when she saw Luke approaching her smile instantly disappeared and she froze in place.

"...Are you okay, ma'am?" Luke asked, confusedly stopping just short of the counter. The woman carefully set down the glass she was holding and made her way around the counter, staring at Luke the whole time.

"Clive Dove..." She whispered through her lips and stared with glassy blue eyes. She gently reached out as if to touch Luke's cheek, and he felt profoundly uncomfortable.

"E-excuse me, wh-"

Suddenly, she seized him by the wrist and slammed it down to the counter. Before Luke could even react, she'd started howling and screeching like a wild animal to everyone else. Everyone in the cafe rose from their seats and ran over to grab and restrain Luke.

"H-hey! What're y-you-- HELP!" He started to struggle and squirm against the people all grabbing onto him, but it was no use. There were just too many.

One burly man grabbed Luke by the collar of his shirt, shoved him over the table and shouted. "YOU! KILLED! MY! DAUGHTER!" He screamed, punctuating each word with a punch.

Luke groaned, thinking the man might possibly have broken something, then winced as he saw more and more people piling in from outside, each and every one of them with a crazed look in their eyes. Before long, the little cafe was packed with more people than he'd known it was possible to fit in the place, or indeed the entire village. The conversations of the villagers all blended together in his ringing ears.

"I thought Clive was dead..." "He's here right now!" "That monster killed my husband with his big stupid murder machine!" "I moved here to get away from him!" "What's this scumpile doing here?!"

"I-I'm not Clive Dove!" Luke tried to thrash around to escape even though he knew it was useless. "I f-fought to stop him with Professor Layton!" His voice was mostly drowned out by the voices of the villagers, who had all started shouting at him and trying to get their own attacks in.

A man managed to part the crowd, and just when Luke thought he was about to be rescued the man brandished an iron rod and shouted, "Who wants revenge on this murdering filth?"

The whole crowd cheered as Luke struggled pointlessly, screaming himself hoarse. The mob managed to press themselves together even further to clear a path while the man went into the kitchen for a few seconds. When he returned holding the iron bar in a shaking hand, the end of it was glowing white.

"W-wait, please, nonono..." Luke switched over from physical resistance to outright begging for mercy, but the villagers obviously weren't going to forgive him for something he didn't do. He could see them all, baying for blood.

One man pulled Luke's jacket off and threw it against the wall so that his arm was exposed. Luke tried to twist away but had the searing hot, nearly-molten iron bar pressed down onto his upper arm.

Luke could feel nothing but indescribable pain, howling and thrashing around like a dying creature. His skin blistered and bubbled where the iron touched it, turning a combination of pale white and crimson red and making Luke feel like he was on fire. It still hurt like hell even after the piece of metal was pulled away.

"Now the other arm!" One woman cried out in some vengeful crazed sing-song tone. This stirred the rest of them up into a frenzy, and they cheered in anticipation of further torture.

"P-please, I'm not Clive..." Luke sobbed uselessly, waterfalls of tears falling from his swollen reddened eyes. "I'm _LUKE TRITON!_ "

One woman pushed her way through the crowd and grabbed the iron bar. "What on earth do you think you're doing?!" She brandished the bar at the others, most of whom seemed to suddenly remember they had somewhere to be and ran off. Only a few were brave enough to stay behind, and they all instantly let go of Luke, leaving him to collapse on the ground in a heap and watch the rest of the events that unfolded.

The first to speak was the man who'd been holding the metal before the woman came in, and he was surprisingly calm for someone who'd just been torturing a nineteen-year-old boy. "Honey, this is _Clive Dove_. The one who attacked London. We built this town just to get away from him, remember?"

"He died four years ago!" She screeched. "You just scarred an innocent man for life, just because of your petty revenge on a dead man!" She kicked him in the shins and shooed him out. She shot a glare at the others who were left behind, and they hurriedly ran outside.

"Are you okay?" The woman asked, sitting the weary teenager up and scurrying to get his jacket and backpack that had been thrown against the wall.

"I-it really hurts..." Luke whimpered and reached out to touch it. The burned flesh was a sickening mess. He could feel his stomach lurch as his eyes took in another helping of the terrible image.

"Don't touch it." The woman pulled his hand away firmly but carefully. "It'll just hurt more." She folded the jacket and placed it in his bag, zipping the bag up again and sighing.

The two were silent for a while before the woman spoke. "I'm Elise, if you were wondering. How did you even come here?" She gently slipped Luke's bag back onto his back, being careful not to touch his wound.

Luke went and slid into a seat, taking a deep breath and feeling exhausted. The sun was beginning to set outside as he spoke with a slight wheeze. "Someone kidnapped a man I love and I was on his trail."

"Aww, dearie." Elise patted his shoulder sympathetically. "You've had a long day, haven't you?"  
  


"I have..." Luke took a deep breath. "I don't particularly want to stay in this town tonight, I might wake up with my arm sawed off or something..." He shuddered.

"If you remember which direction he was going, I could drive you that way...." Elise spoke and adjusted the skirt she was wearing.

"Please do." Luke was getting desperate to find Layton and tried to ignore the searing pain on his arm he knew wasn't going to be easily healed with a bit of cold water.


	6. Chapter 6

Luke stared out the window, watching the English countryside rush past and scouting for anything that seemed suspicious. Thankfully, there was only one road that went the way Clive had gone, so there was no way to get mixed up or lost. They were alone on the road while Elise played a melancholy tune through the speakers.

_Oh, you meant so much... Have you given up?_

Luke refused to give up, and kept on scanning the countryside until he found what he was looking for. "I see something, stop the car!" Elise complied and the car rolled to a stop, thick dust clouds swirling around the vehicle.

"So, what is it that you see?" Elise asked as Luke opened the car door and stepped out onto the unpaved dirt road.

"That building." He exhaled. In the middle of a sprawling muddy paddock was what looked like a garage-sized concrete brick with a door in the side. "I'm going to check it out."

He picked his backpack from the seat and instructed Elise to stay where she was. She nodded and parked the car, but continued to listen to her music.

Luke took off at a brisk walk towards the tiny building, before breaking into an excited sprint. _This could be it_ , He thought to himself. He ran headlong towards the door, hoping to bust through it dramatically, but ended up just slamming into it with his burned arm and letting out a yelp of pain.

Once the pain had subsided a bit, Luke knelt down to the puzzle which was keeping the door locked. He quickly thanked the professor for teaching him so much about what made the world tick and began to figure out the lock.

Once he found the solution, it clicked quietly and Luke managed to push the door open a few centimetres. Luke didn't hesitate to run in, and the moment he did the door shut behind him and left him in almost total darkness. He flicked a nearby light switch, turning on a single lightbulb hanging from a ceiling beam. (He vaguely remembered solving a puzzle like that once, but that wasn't important now.)

In the center of the room was a large rectangular object, covered with a black thick blanket cloth. It was slightly taller than him and a whole lot wider, about two metres. Luke felt his heart thud as he carefully took the fabric and began to pull it away. Adrenaline flooded his veins and anxiety caused him to shake.

Underneath the black fabric was a tank. It was filled with what looked like water - and his professor was curled up and floating in it, blindfolded, with earmuffs, wearing some loose, plain white clothing, just floating around him through the strange liquid.

"PROFESSOR!" Luke could only yell on instinct, running up a ladder fixed to the side and promptly falling into the liquid. It felt strange and light on his skin and he grabbed the professor tightly, trying to pull him from the water. Layton didn't move and made Luke suddenly panic.

Luke held Layton tightly and first moved him so his head was above the liquid. He put a hand on his chest to try and check if his heart was still beating, and found it was. Slowly, but still beating. He decided to try and formulate a plan to get out. Layton was practically a dead weight, and didn't respond at all to Luke trying to remove him from the tank, but after a few tries Luke succeeded and dragged him out onto the concrete floor.

He stood there, holding his professor tightly while he coughed up liquid helplessly. Luke didn't mind the fact he was soaking wet, all he cared about was the fact he was holding his true love. He took off the earmuffs and tossed them aside then pulled off the blindfold slowly.

Layton squeezed his eyes shut to try and make the transition easier, and felt someone rubbing his back until he quietly and slowly opened his eyes. His eyes adjusted and he spotted Luke right there.

"Professor..." Luke whispered and softly smiled, holding him closely. "It's been so long..." He had little hot beads of water travelling down his cheeks. Despite his tears he was grinning.

"I..." Layton tried to speak but found he was partially paralysed. He shut his mouth and tried to smile sheepishly, but it just ended up looking lopsided and awkward.

"Are you alright?" Luke asked, setting his hands gently on the professor's shoulders.

Layton tried to move his tongue and mouth enough to articulate words, but he was too drugged down to speak, and ended up bursting into tears.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay..." Luke pulled Layton into a close embrace. "Look, I'll get you to the hospital, alright?" Luke said, protectively kissing his forehead before scooping him up in a bridal carry style. Layton leaned so he was against Luke's chest and just shut his eyes, trying to stop his tears.

~~~~~

Layton later lay in a hospital bed, surrounded by shades of white while Luke read a book next to him and held his hand. Layton stared up at the empty white ceiling and was just waiting for whatever drugs were in the liquid to wear off.

"Are you feeling okay?" Luke spoke up after a long period of silence.

"I'm beginning to feel things again..." Layton spoke slowly and softly to try and get his tongue to move properly so he could articulate words. "But I... think I forgot some things..."

"Like what?" Luke pulled his chair closer so he could hear the professor more clearly.

"I can't remember where my office is... or the names of my students..." He whispered softly and slowly.

"It could be worse." Luke squeezed his hand. "You could have forgotten your fondest memories..."

"You're right." Layton just relaxed before feeling Luke's lips gently make contact with his hand.

"I love you so much, Professor." Luke was smiling, despite the hot tears he could feel rolling down his cheeks.

"I love you too, Luke." Layton just smiled with what movement his mouth could allow. "It was really all the memories of you and your letters that kept me from going insane in there..."

"Really?" Luke breathed and felt his cheeks become slightly pink.

"Indeed." Layton spoke slowly still. "Also, you don't have to call me Professor."

"...What else would I call you then?"

"Hershel." Layton gave another weak smile. "'Professor' is too formal, don't you think?"

"It is... Hershel." Luke gently shuffled a bit closer and stood up, leaning down so his lips touched the other's for the first time in a long, long time.

~~~~~

"I hope my students didn't slack off while I was away..." Layton hurriedly carried his briefcase of stuff to teach for his lecture with one hand and held Luke's hand in the other.

"I'm sure someone took care of them, Hershel." Luke held his hand. He was tagging along in case the professor had forgotten where something was or who someone was or just anything in general.

"Professor L!" An upbeat feminine voice sang out. A woman wearing a trench coat with cropped lava coloured hair and red lipstick neatly applied to sharp lips rushed forward. "I missed you so much!" She grinned at Layton with her white perfect teeth.

"I missed you too." Layton tried to sound convincing. "I need to go do something quickly, alright? I'll see you." He quickly hurried away holding Luke's hand. "...Who is she?" He whispered softly.

"She's not important." Luke assured him, pushing Layton past her into the university and shooting her a nasty glare as they passed by.


	7. Chapter 7

Clive strolled into the room, whistling. He was going to do his daily check on the professor... _his_ professor. He felt his heart stop as he turned on the single light and saw that the tank had been uncovered, and there was no one inside.

"Wh..." Clive whispered and felt his throat beginning to burn and his eyes beginning to sting. His professor had been taken from him, or had somehow escaped. His perfect plan-- elaborate, indeed, but perfect--had been completely ruined, all because some pest couldn't keep out of it. He'd spent weeks constructing an elaborate identity for the professor to use once he'd been brainwashed, and now he had to start from scratch. He stomped his foot angrily and stormed outside. Someone had taken Hershel Layton, and locating him was his number one priority right now.

Meanwhile, Layton himself was back at the university where he taught. He'd forgotten a few minor things-- such as the names of his students, his plans for the classes, and where he _kept_ his plans for the classes. To make matters worse, his office had not improved in organization over the years, and everything was still as much of a mess as it had been before Luke had left. Luke was tagging along, partially to help him figure everything out, but mostly because after six years apart he couldn't bear to be separated for more than approximately five point two seconds.

"Luke? Can you grab me some files...?" Layton called from his desk towards Luke who was just sorting things out and making his office slightly less of a mess.

"Okay, Hershel!" Luke was, of course, happy to help. He grabbed some files from a filing cabinet in the corner and went to the professor's desk to give them to him, along with a quick peck on the cheek.

There was a slow strong knock at the door, but whoever knocked didn't say anything at all... It was typical for someone to knock on Layton's door and at least say who they were, but now there was nothing but silence.

"Do you mind getting that?" Layton asked, busy rifling through some files.

"Sure!" Luke hummed a little tune as he headed to open the door. It took only a moment to register the person who was on the other side, and he gasped. "It's you!"

He seemed about to say something else, but cut himself off with a shocked yelp as he was tackled by the man who'd just come in. Layton got up from his seat in surprise and managed to recognize Clive Dove pinning Luke down to deliver a punch to his jaw.

"Clive?!" Layton wasn't sure what to do at first, before acting on instinct and grabbing the attacker of his precious Luke, pulling him up and awkwardly restraining him. He normally wouldn't like to get physical but _no one_ was going to hurt _his_ Luke.

Clive struggled to break free, but he simply couldn't overpower Layton. He just sighed and fell limp.

Luke got up slowly, rubbing his sore shoulder which he'd landed on after being tackled. "Why don't you just... leave us alone?" He sighed at the struggling miserable man in Layton's grip.

"B-Because-"

"You killed thousands! Entire families!" Luke slapped him across his face and felt a great rush of satisfaction from doing so. "You demolished schools! Buildings! Businesses!"

Luke took a moment to pull off his jacket, revealing the painful burn underneath. It was still far from healing. "See this? This is something people did because they were afraid of you! An entire town full of people who had someone close to them killed by your stupid machine! And it's still not enough for you! You had to kidnap him on top of it! What can you say to justify what you did?" Luke shouted at Clive at the top of his lungs.

Clive looked more or less completely crushed by Luke's words and took a deep breath through his nose and managed to whimper, "because I love him..." He looked absolutely terrified.

Everyone in the room was speechless for a moment or two. Luke shuffled over towards the other two and hugged Layton, who let go of Clive in order to return the hug. Clive stepped away, looking at the two of them as if he'd been betrayed.

"H-he's mine." Luke mumbled, hugging Layton a bit tighter as he spoke.

"I'm sorry, Clive, but I love Luke." The professor said softly, trying to make the blow less heavy.

Something in Clive's eyes just snapped. Something broke. It looked like something had shattered into a million little sharp pieces. Little beads of water forming in his eyes and falling down his cheeks. He closed his reddened, swollen eyes and turned away, trying to hide the obvious tears.

"I-I..." He spoke and reached towards the doorknob. "I guess... that's the end..." Something about his tone made Layton nervous for what he was going to do.

"Wait!" Layton broke the hug and grabbed Clive's wrist. "You... don't have to do that."

Clive turned around again, his face a complete tear streaked mess, cheeks red, eyes puffy and slightly pinkish, the image of sadness. He sniffed before asking through this tears, "What?"

"I think you could just... start over." Layton tried to reason with the upset terrorist who was probably considering offing himself. "Change your name, get new clothes... maybe even go to Gressenheller University." He tried to smile. "We can help you."

Clive stopped and rubbed his eyes. "H-how?" He sniffled again.

"We could take you back to our apartment." Layton held Luke's hand and squeezed it, as though emphasizing the "our" part. "I'm sure we'll have some things there to help."

"R-really?" Clive couldn't really say much, he was hardly able to form sentences in his current emotional state.

"Of course." Layton replied with a nod and a smile. "It is a gentleman's duty to help those in need, whatever the circumstances may be."

Clive began to smile and he once more burst into tears, but this time in joy.

~~~~~~

Clive later sat on a comfortable plush couch in a messy apartment with a cup of tea with extra sugar and milk. He sipped in comfort and felt warm inside for once, while Layton was shuffling around in his room looking for something. Luke was in the middle of his regularly scheduled midday fridge raid.

Layton strolled in, triumphantly holding up a red cheesecutter style cap. It looked rather dusty and old, but he carefully placed it on Clive's head. "Here."

Clive sneezed due to the dust falling around his face like a waterfall and pulled the cap off to inspect it more closely. "Was this yours?"

"It was mine about fifteen years ago, but I thought you could have it now." Layton smiled and had Luke appear from the sidelines with a random casual cheese platter he set up. He took a little cracker with cheese and pesto, quickly popping it in his mouth and chewing before going back to talking. "You should probably get your hair cut short or wait for it to grow out a little too."

Clive settled the cap back onto his head and nodded in agreement, trying not to inhale the dust that was still floating in the air around him.

"Maybe you could get your hair dyed too, so people stop mistaking us for each other..." Luke was still a little bitter about the whole Haven Town ordeal.

"Good idea..." Clive began to dream up a new life, eager to start anew. A new life where he wasn't the (supposedly dead) criminal Clive Dove who killed thousands.... He couldn't wait to get a fresh start, and things were only looking up from here.


	8. Alternate Ending / Two Weeks Too Late

My name is Professor Hershel Layton, and I was forty-three years old when I died.

It wasn't much of a spectacle; in fact, it took me quite awhile to notice that I was dead at all. I simply went to sleep as normal one night, and never woke up. A peaceful death in my sleep... very dignified and fitting for a gentleman, assuming I wasn't murdered.

But then, it may very well have been murder. I was followed home from the university where I teach. Undeniably suspicious, but not exactly hard evidence for anything, especially considering the fact that I don't even know who was following me. They may simply have been taking a similar route, however unlikely that may be. But that's no problem. I still have plenty of time to solve this mystery... the mystery of my own death.

I wonder how long it will be before anyone finds my body. I sincerely hope it won't be Luke... The last letter he sent told me he'd be coming back to London soon to see me, and I don't want the poor thing to see me like that. He may be nineteen now, but I'll always remember him as the little boy who's loved me for so long. And I love him back. I haven't seen him in six years and now I won't ever see him again. I miss him so much...

It hurts my heart but if it's any consolation, I did memorize a letter he sent me when he was still young.

"Dear Professor," It started out. "It's been a while and I'm missing you and I miss cuddles already, I've been cuddling a pillow for a while but I want you back... Some days it's hard to get up because you're not with me, but your letters help me every day. I want you to know I'll always love you no matter what! I'll come home one day, I promise! Luke. P.S: I love you."

I can still hear his voice in my head as I remember it. He sent many letters like these twice a week and sometimes even more. This one is my favourite, I even framed it in his old room and bought lots of gifts for him when he got home. I do hope he likes everything, if he even finds it.

I have eternity to wonder. Maybe he'll join me one day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hate to say this but I appear to have forgotten the names of my mother and father. Their faces are blurry in my mind. I don't know how long it's been, it could have been an hour or a millennium. It's hard to keep track when you can't see, hear, feel or smell anything.

I need to take extra effort to make sure I don't forget anything else important. I don't want to lose Luke and Claire's memories, but this void after death has a way of eroding the edges of my mind and making it all seem meaningless.

I wonder if anyone attended my funeral? If I even had a funeral. For all I know, they haven't even found me yet. It could've only been ten minutes since I died... Hm. How did I die again? I suppose it isn't that important. I'm dead, and that's what matters.

I've been thinking a lot about Heaven and Hell and there's every possibility that this is Hell. If there is a God, he may not have particularly agreed with my feelings towards little Luke... Nothing but unfounded speculation, of course, but it could be worse. I could be on fire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
It feels like it's been a long time. I can barely even remember my own name anymore, and I can only remember two sentences of the letter Claire... No, Luke sent it. Who was Claire again? I can't remember anything about her except a deep sadness for some reason.

I remember Luke, though... Is that because my name is Luke? No, it isn't, I... can't remember that either. But Luke seems important, and so does that letter they wrote. I don't want to forget these last things I have left... I'll just repeat them so they don't fade.

I want you to know I'll always love you no matter what! I'll come home one day, I promise, I want you to know I'll always love you no matter what, I'll come home one day, I prom-

Suddenly, the void gives way to a bright light and the sudden sensation that I've inhaled water. I begin to cough and take deep, gasping breaths, staring blankly until something comes into focus- a young man wearing brown and green clothes, and looking worried.

"Are you okay?" He asks me, concerned. I try to respond, but just end up coughing more water out and collapsing onto my hands and knees. "Don't worry, you'll be fine in a little bit." He says as he helps me back up.

After a minute or two, I manage to stop coughing long enough to speak, and instantly blurt the first thing that comes to mind. "A-are you... Luke?"

The man seems taken aback for a moment before answering. "No, my name is Clive. Clive Dove."

"Oh." I respond, taking a moment to cough out a bit more liquid before asking my second question. "Then... what's _my_ name?"

"Your name is Anthony Taylor." Clive speaks softly and calmly.

Anthony Taylor. Ah. That's right. That's my name, _Anthony Taylor._ It has a nice ring to it.

"You were drowning before I revived you..." He cooes sympathetically. "You poor thing. I won't let anything like that happen to you ever again."

"May I ask, who exactly are you? What is your connection to me?" I question him, trying to learn more.

"I'm your master." Clive says with a smile. "You're my servant and you go out to get stuff done for me, remember?"

I guess I'm his servant. It makes sense. I do get a vague sense of familiarity, like I've helped him out with things before, and he clearly cares about me.

"Well, is there anything you need done, master?" I ask. I'm going to be the best servant I can be.

"I just need some shopping done in London." My master smiles endearingly at me. He pulls up some clothing and throws it to me. "You'll have to wear these, Anthony."

"Thank you, master." I feel the need to thank him as I put on the casual jeans and dark shirt. He's given me a jacket too. I don't particularly like it but I want to thank my master again. He did save my life, after all. I owe him everything. I just wish I knew who Luke was.

"I'll drive you to London." My master says and turns around. I follow him without hesitation.

My master's car is a mess, blankets strewn in the back, random bags everywhere, packaging, a whole heap of clothes in the glovebox. His car is old and dark red but it has a certain appeal.

He starts the car and I look up at the stars and quietly ponder the letter I got from the mysterious Luke. Luke is a male name, but I do recall whoever it was, they were very feminine. They could be a girl.

 _No one's gonna take my soul away, I'm living like Jim Morrison,_ sing the speakers in my master's car. My master drives down a long long road and tips his green hat down slightly to conceal his eyes.

London City is a loud noisy place with lots of cars and people. It's late at night but people are still roaming the streets and busy as ever.

My master quickly looks at the dashboard of his car. "Damnit, I'm low on fuel..." He says irritated and makes a sudden right turn down a street.

He pulls up at a petrol station and tips his hat over his eyes. "We can't let anyone see me," He says, handing me some money. "Go fill the car and pay for it."

"Yes, master." I say and hop out, shutting the car door. While filling the car I wonder why my master doesn't want to be seen by anyone, but I get the feeling I shouldn't ask questions.

I pay for it and hop back in the car. My master appears pleased. I smile with satisfaction as he drives to another place and pulls his car to the side of the road.

"Go to the supermarket and get this stuff." He hands me a white sheet of paper with a long list of items and a large wad of cash. "I'll pick you up later." He almost pushes me out of the car.

"Okay, master." I say and tuck the cash safely in my jacket pocket.

My master stares for just a second before shutting his car door and driving off.

This would be much easier if I could actually remember where the supermarket was. I must do this for my poor master every week and get him groceries. I decide to just follow my instinct and wander down the street.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's pretty late and I think I'm walking in circles. There's no supermarket anywhere and I think it would be closed by now. I don't wish to disappoint my master, but I have money to go to a bar I saw and get just one drink... Just one. No more.  
The bar is upbeat with chatting people sitting at tables and eating some delicious looking food, pizza, pasta, soup... It all looks wonderful. I just sit at the bar and try eavesdropping on some of the other conversations.  
"Hey there." The man sitting next to me turns to me and smiles. "I haven't seen you here before."  
"I don't usually come here." I feel welcome already. "I'm usually doing things for my master, I think." I smile back  
"Oh. Well, anyway, welcome, mate." He slaps my back and grins. I can't help but feel welcome.  
I push a 5-pound note across the counter and get myself a beer. It feels like forever since I've drunk alcohol... Bliss. I begin to wonder about that letter, I can remember it...

 _"I want you to know I'll always love you no matter what."_ From someone named Luke.  
"Excuse me?" I ask the gentleman beside me. "Do you know anyone by the name of Luke?"  
The man shakes his head. "Nope. Sorry".

I sigh and drink more. Alcohol is a wonderful thing. I don't think my master lets me have it, because this is the first time I've had it for many years... I can tell. It's gone too quickly and I'm somewhat disappointed.

"I only have the money for one, I should be heading out..." I start to slide off the seat a little reluctantly.

"Hey, you're a good guy." The man next to me says, paying for another beer and offering it to me. "Here, have one on me."

"Well, why not." I sit back down. I really should only have one, but who's counting? "Thanks."

"No problem, mate." He chuckles, patting me on the back. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Anthony Taylor." I say with a smile and crack open the bottle, taking a deep swig. That's the stuff.

"The name's Richard." He shakes my hand a with a friendly smile. This Richard person is quite generous, isn't he? It couldn't hurt to stay...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where did you find 'im?"

"Passed out drunk in an alleyway, sir. He had his stomach pumped."

"I don't remember 'Ershel Layton ever drinkin'..."

My eyes open and my head is throbbing and sore. I'm not sure who this Hershel Layton person is, but he's probably not important. What's important is my master is probably disappointed in me. I feel terrible...

I'm in a room with two police officers and a squinting man in a green coat. Their attention turns to me as I sit up and rub my head, and the strange man begins to address me.

"Ah. You're awake. We all thought you were dead." He says in a gruff voice.

"I thought I was, too..." I reply, wincing slightly.

"Well, do you need to be driven home?" He asks politely. He seemed mostly devoid of sympathy when speaking beforehand but now he's talking to me like an old friend.

"Actually, I have a few questions." I say. This man could know something about who this mysterious Luke person is.

"Mm? And what are these questions?" The man says.

"Do you know where someone named Luke is?" I ask. The man's expression changes to one of mild shock, but it quickly softens and he looks sympathetic.

"Do you want me to bring 'im in for you?" He asks and looks strangely concerned.

"Oh! Yes! That would be perfect! Thank you." I agree happily. My master can wait just a bit longer. I need these questions answered.

"You just take a seat while I go grab 'im for you.." He left the room with the other police officer. My heart races in anticipation.

The door opens and a man walks in. He looks a lot like Clive, but younger and with a few slight differences. He looks absolutely exhausted, dark rings around his eyes, stubble unshaven, messy chestnut hair, wearing a faded blue newsboy cap, and wearing mostly shades of blue and white. A smile appears on his face and he runs to me, throwing his arms around me. He doesn't say a word, just squeezes me tightly.

"Hello," I say a little awkwardly and return the hug. "Do... do _you_ know who Luke is?"

I feel he changes slightly the way he's hugging me. Something loosens. I'm not sure what I said- wait.

"Oh! Pardon me, how rude." I say as the man pulls away with a look of shock on his face for some reason. "My name is Anthony Taylor!"

He stares at me for a moment, before suddenly bursting into tears like he's a little boy...

I have no idea what to do. This man has been acting so strangely, and still hasn't said a word. I shift uncomfortably. Did I do something wrong? "Erm... Is everything alright?" I venture tentatively.

He stops crying for a moment and wipes his eyes on his sleeve, which I can't help but notice is quite filthy. "Professah, _I'm_ Luke... d-don't you remember me?"

"I'm afraid I don't... But if you're Luke, you must be important." I say thoughtfully, then remember something. "Do you remember the letter you wrote me?"

He seems confused. "Which one? I wrote you lots of letters... As often as I could..."

"Hmm..." I rack my brain to remember everything I can about the letter. "I think I had it memorized once, but now I can only remember two sentences. It said, 'I'll always love you no matter what', and 'I'll come home one day, I promise'. Does that help...?" I look him in the eyes as I speak.

There's definitely something there, I just can't reach it... The young man thinks for just a moment before his expression brightens.

"I know the letter you're talking about! And I know where it is, too! Come on!" And with that he seized my wrist and dragged me out of the room, not giving me the chance to argue or even respond.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke leads me into an incredibly messy apartment. There are books, papers and empty mugs strewn across every surface and I can't help but wonder how on earth anyone could even live here. I suppose it could be worse, there could be empty pizza boxes and bags and bags of takeaways.

He takes me into a strange room which seems uninhabited, but it has lots and lots of stuffed animals on the bed and lots of expensive lavish looking bedroom furniture. Luke leads me to the wall and points out a framed letter.

"I wrote this! Remember?" Luke puts a hand on my shoulder. "And you must have liked it so much that you framed it." He seems proud of himself.

My eyes scan the letter and it just clicks back into my head.

"I remember this..." I say and smile. I then begin to wonder what this place even is... "Is this your apartment?" I ask him.

"It's yours, professor." Luke says and sighs sadly, looking like he's holding back more tears. He turns to me and lightly strokes my cheek and puts one hand on my shoulder. I don't know what he's doing until he puts his arms around my neck and leans in, kissing me softly.

His lips are soft and sweet, and I can't help but feel warm inside. Luke holds the kiss for a few seconds before pulling back. "Do you remember anything now?" He whispers and stares into my eyes.

"I wish I could..." I reply. I really do want to retrieve whatever memories I have with this young, handsome gentleman, but it just seems... impossible.

Luke takes a deep shaky breath and just holds me tightly, as if he were to lose me if he let go. "I-I thought you were dead..."

I just uncomfortably return the hold. "I thought I was, too..."

"Do you need sleep...?" He says in a soft voice and strokes my back affectionately.

"But..." My poor master must be worried sick about me and very _very_ disappointed in me... "My master needs me, I-I should go..."

"NO!" He shouts aggressively and grips me tighter. He's stronger than I thought, actually... I can only wriggle uselessly in his grip. "Whoever it is, he's not your master! You're not Anthony Taylor, you're Professor Hershel Layton!"

"I..." I try to argue back but nothing comes to mind. I guess my master could wait overnight... I can go shopping first thing in the morning. "I'll sleep here."

"Good." Luke seems relieved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm wearing comfy loose fitting pyjamas while Luke is just wearing a singlet he found in a drawer and black boxer shorts. He seems to insist we share a bed, and really I'd rather be in pitch black (again) with someone who might love me rather than being completely alone.

I curl up underneath some warm blankets and rest my head on a fluffy comfortable pillow. It's wonderfully luxurious, at least I think it is. I don't really have anything to compare it to.

Luke turns the lamp off on his side of the bed and softly whispers "goodnight" and plunges me back into silence and pitch black. Like when I was drowning.

Everything's black again and I can feel things crawling all over me from nowhere, crawling, little tingles... Where's Luke gone?! I thrash and grab him and find he's still there in the darkness. The crawlings things disappear.

"Y-you're still th-th-there?" I stammer anxiously and cling to him.

"I don't remember you ever being afraid of the dark..." Luke mumbles. He cuddles me closely in his arms. "Does this help?"

"It does..." I yawn and feel safe in this young man's protective strong embrace.

I feel a gentle kiss on my cheek and feel Luke turn me over in his arms, I think he's spooning me with his protective loving arms around me. "I still love you..."

I can't help but feel my heart spark slightly. He is a wonderful young man... I can safely shut my eyes and sleep...

"Goodnight, Luke..." I say softly and feel Luke squeeze me tightly in a warm embrace.

"Goodnight~" He says in a quiet but thankful tone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I-I-I'm s-scared..." The little damp eyed Luke Triton clung tightly to my orange shirt and cried into it. I tried to pull him away a little but he's clinging as tightly as he possibly can.

"Now, now," I say to try and comfort the boy, "The specter passed, we're safe now." I periodically stroke his head to try and get him to calm down. The specter was indeed a menace... I don't blame him for being so terrified...

The little boy, hardly a metre tall anxiously squirmed in my lap and shivered. "I d-don't feel safe..."

"Do you want me to take you back to your house, then?" I ask the boy, putting my hands on his small shoulders. He's likely safer with his father in a sturdy strong house, and he'll likely sleep better in his own room.

"No!" His grey glazed corpse-like eyes suddenly appear to be filled with a strong desire to stay. "I'm not going home!"

"I promise you, the specter has passed and we can go to bed." I pat the boy's head and hold his hand to one of the beds, where Emmy is currently snuggled lavishly under the covers. I throw back the covers on the free side so he can crawl up onto the bed. He gives a little soft grunt and curls up as I pull the covers back over him so he's warm and toasty.

The boy appears a little less unnerving when he's curled up happily under some blankets. I take his hat and place it on the little bedside table beside him, revealing fluffy brown hair. He looks almost angelic like this...

"Happy?" I ask with a smile.

He makes a happy "mmm~" sound under the covers and certainly looks cozy and happy. It's almost adorable.

"That's good." I pull back the covers of the neighbouring bed and slide in and stare up at the ceiling. I doubt I'll be able to sleep for quite a while, I'm rather shaken from the specter...

"Mr. L-Layton?" Luke speaks up. I can hardly hear his little voice. It's being swallowed by the darkness.

"Mm?"

"C... Can you kiss me goodnight?" Luke says anxiously.

I'm sort of... surprised by the question. He probably is used to his parents kissing him goodnight and tucking him in. He's likely anxious after the whole specter destruction in front of his eyes too, and he might just need comfort... But, I can't. I'm not his father, I'm just a family friend.

"I... shouldn't do that, Luke..." I say quietly and sigh.

"P-please?" I hear the voice perk up again.

I give another sigh. He likely won't leave me be until I actually do it. I slide out of bed and kneel beside his bed. Oddly enough, I can see his eyes in the darkness. There's a bit of light in them, somehow. My eyes have adjusted to the dark a little, and I reluctantly plant a soft kiss on his forehead.

"Goodnight, Luke~" I say and pat his head.

"Thank you..." He says in a slightly different voice. It's a little less strained and not as quiet. I just go back to my own bed, crawling under the covers and shutting my eyes, trying to sleep.

Within seconds I hear a few shuffling noises and there's suddenly a warm weight beside me. Upon opening my eyes Luke is snuggling up to my side...

I briefly open my eyes to see Luke has crawled in with me and is cuddled up to my side.

"Um... what are you doing, Luke?" I ask the small child.

"I want to cuddle...." He mumbles in response, his voice muffled from being buried in my shirt. "I feel safer here."

Luke is warm and he doesn't seem to have any intention of moving. I end up wrapping my arms around him and letting him cuddle closely... I assume he misses his teddy bear. It isn't too bad being cuddled like this, in fact it's actually quite enjoyable... I can close my eyes and go to sleep...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wake up and sit bolt upright. That was either a memory or a dream... either way I must be a sick sick sick person... I sigh and look at Luke fast asleep beside me, he's a fully grown adult who seems happy... Maybe it's alright. I briefly wrap my arms around him and cuddle him closely.

My next thought is I'm wide awake and my master must be worried sick... I quickly get up and grab my clothes that were on a chair and get changed hastily in the dark, bumping into a tall bookshelf at least once.

I reach for the doorknob and pause.

Some part of me wants to crawl back into bed with Luke and cuddle him close and wear that top hat and ignore my master, but... I need to go back to my master.

The London streets are cold and harsh and I find myself exhausted yet again. Rain occasionally falls and I have no idea where I'm going so I can only wait.

After who knows how long, my master's beat up red car pulls up and he hops out, running towards me and throwing his arms around me promptly. "Anthony, what happened...?" He asks in a slow soft voice. He buries his face in the side of my neck and holds me tightly.

"I don't actually know where the supermarket is." I respond and sigh. "Could we go shopping in the morning...?"

"That's fine." My master hastily pulls me into his car again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, if I may ask..." I say while my master drives out of the city. "Where is your house? Is it a mansion? Are there other servants?"

"No..." He sighs as we reach an empty silent country intersection and pulls the car to underneath an oddly placed street lamp, on the grass.

"I have no house or form of income." My master deadpans. "We sleep in the car."

"Oh..." I'm beginning to regret leaving the apartment.

My master shivers and hops out of the car, opening the backseat door and putting the seats down so the boot is of a considerable size. He has blankets and pillows in the boot, thankfully.

He crawls in and sighs. "Come on, you must need your rest..."

I awkwardly crawl in the back and lay my head down on the pillow, pulling the blanket over myself. It's thankfully not too dark.

My master looks sad as he stares up at the roof. "At least... at least I have you..." He sighed. "...having a servant makes everything a lot easier and less lonely..."

I pity my master a little... He just looks depressed. I shut my tired eyes and try to sleep but I feel arms wrap around me again. I squirm a little uncomfortably, I'd rather be back with Luke... but... that's sick. I'm here with my master instead and this is how it's always been.

"Good night..." My master whispers.

"Night." I say and shut my eyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As I wake in the morning with the sunlight streaming through the car windows and my master cuddling me in a strangely affectionate manner, considering I'm his servant, I find myself faced with some questions.  
Hershel Layton, a pedophile that calls himself a gentleman, and is in love with a man named Luke Triton... or Anthony Taylor, the loyal servant to the mysterious Clive Dove, who must remain hidden from the world... Which one am I?

I think my master must be in love with me. I don't know how to feel about that... I don't want to stay here, I want to just run and run and run... I don't know where to go. I don't have anywhere to go. I hardly know where I am.

I open the car door quietly and step out into the cold morning mist.

I'm standing in the countryside along a long stretching dust road. I can see London's hazy skyline in the distance. That's where I'm headed...

I quickly ponder if I should take the car, but I don't have the foggiest idea how to drive it. Chances are my master would wake up and stop me... I guess I'll have to try and jog.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I rap on the apartment door that I was staying at and Luke opens it a few seconds later. His frazzled, stressed expression turned to relief within seconds. "H-Hershel?"

I can't really think of anything to say and my lower lip trembles. I just burst out into tears and start sobbing uselessly like the sick pedophile I am.

Luke looks saddened and pulls me close into a tight hug. He kisses my forehead and hugs me tightly as possible. "It's okay, it's okay..."

"I shouldn't have come back..." I whisper into his shoulder. "I'm a horrible excuse for a person..."

He pulls away from me slightly, and brushes away some of my tears. I find myself looking into his eyes; somehow glazed over and intense, at the same time. "Listen," he says. "I waited six years to come back here for you... You're not a horrible excuse for a person. You're the most wonderful, amazing man I've ever met. Okay?"

I just nod and try to smile. It's hard to stop tears but his words make me feel a bit happier. I notice the top hat resting on the table, and approach it... I lift it. It has a familiar scent...

"This is familiar..." I say before turning towards Luke. "Is this yours?" I ask.

"No, it's yours." Luke says with a smile. His eyes are beginning to light up again a little.

I stare at it in my hands and try to remember something about it. I can't remember anything, yet... Luke walks over and lifts it from my hands and places it on my head. I look up from my hands and I feel Luke's lips suddenly against mine. I shut my eyes and return it, wrapping my arms around him tightly. I think I've fallen back in love with Luke... and it feels right. I am Hershel Layton, after all, and I always have been.


End file.
